Synopsis:There
is intense research in the area of ultrasound-enhanced drug delivery,
including enhanced accumulation of particles resulting from tumor insonation
with a temperature elevation of ~5C.High field MRI (7T) has advantages in monitoring such treatments in
that the region of treatment and temperature can be controlled; since T2*
scales with field strength, temperature estimation is efficient and sensitive
at high field.We have integrated a
real-time high-field MR-guided focused ultrasound system (Image Guided
Therapy, France) in studies of mild hyperthermia and apply this technology to
improve local drug delivery by coupling PET, MRI and ultrasound (US).